By Edwin Fernandez / Philippine News Agency
Additional military and police forces under Joint Task Force Central were deployed along the highway linking Maguindanao province to Cotabato City and Sultan Kudarat following a blast that took place along Guindulungan town on Saturday (Oct. 23) night.
The blast also halted the 30-vehicle convoy of Rep. Esmael Toto Mangudadatu that was passing a stretch of the highway in Guindulungan near an Army detachment amid a heavy downpour.
“An improvised bomb went off but nobody was hurt,” Lt. Col. John Paul Baldomar, the Philippine Army’s 6th Infantry Division spokesperson, told reporters Sunday.
Mangudadatu, who is running for provincial governor next year, believed he was the target of the roadside bomb attack which occurred around 6:30 p.m. in Sitio Pansol.
“Muntik na kami,” he wrote on Facebook, adding that one of the cars in his 30-vehicle convoy was almost hit by the explosion.
Army and police authorities now jointly investigating the incident cannot say for now if the suspected improvised bomb was meant for Mangudadatu.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. (PNA) – jlo
